Night Rose
by Erilee
Summary: Thorn is a 17-year-old girl with a dangerous past. One that she's trying desperately to escape from. Now Itex is trying to get their hands on her again. What part of her own mysterious past is Thorn missing? And to what extent will she go to outrun it?


Hey everyone ^^ So, this is my first Fanfic so I'm not sure how good it will be, but I figured I'd go ahead and publish it. Let me know what you think :) Btw, this is set early in the Max Ride series, when Itex was still around. However, Max and the flock are not in it - awww..I'm sorry :P But! All of the Morganville characters are! Yaaayyy! :D

Disclaimer: I love both of the series, MV, and MR but, sadly, I own neither. Though if I did I would start work immediately on movies for both..just saying..

Epilogue:

Muddy water splashed onto my already stained jeans as I raced down the sidewalk, stomping through puddles in my haste. I couldn't stop, I had to get out of L.A. Police sirens wailed some distance behind me and I chanced to look back. Flashing red and blue lights lit up a small section of the moonless night in the alley behind me. I fought against the memories I had tried desperately to forget as the lights reflected in my bright sapphire eyes, no energy to waste on disguising them. "Focus." I thought to myself, turning my attention back to the stretch of sidewalk ahead of me. A bus pulled up to the curb a short distance away and I picked up my speed, the tail of my black trench coat flapping behind me. The doors to the bus were just closing as I reached the stop, panting, when suddenly a pair of strong hands wrapped around me. I thrashed wildy, trying to get the attention of someone on the bus as they dragged me into an alley, with no luck. A cloth covered my nose and mouth. "Chloroform." I thought, fighting back with all I had. Hands restrained my arms and legs and I couldn't hold my breath any longer. "Five, four, three, two.." I counted down my seconds to darkness.

Chapter One: Black and Blue

I groaned and tried to roll over, but was stopped by something cold and metal. My eyes snapped open, I was greeted by the harsh glow of flourescent lighting and the metal grating of a dog crate. I squeezed my eyes closed again immediatly, instinctively and expertly focusing my energy, and disguising them a dull brown. "Where am I?" I mumbled almost incoherently, surprised at how raspy my voice sounded.

"Hey, I think she's coming to." I heard someone whisper.

"Yeah. Took her long enough." A male voice grumbled.

"Oh, hush up, Ace ," The kinder voice whispered, "Hun? Are you okay?"

I groaned as I tried to push myself off the floor, pain shooting up my arms and back. I hissed and pulled myself into a sitting position. I opened my eyes again, blinking a few times to adjust to the light, and saw a girl around my age, also in a cage.

She had big, chocolate brown eyes, and long, matted hair of matching color. She wore ripped jeans and a couple-sizes-too-large, white t-shirt splattered with something brownish red. I didn't even need to guess what that was.

"Yes, I'm -" I winced, holding my head in my hands, just noticing the splitting headache I had. "Fine." I ground out.

Her eyes shone with sympathy as she said, "The headache will go away soon, don't worry. I'm Star, and you are?"

I thought for a minute about the answer, but I really didn't remember my name. After a short mental debate, I decided to avoid the question entirely. I took a deep breath, clenching my teeth when a sharp pain ran through my ribcage. I felt for broken bones, but didn't feel any, that was good.

"Where am I?" I asked again in a whisper, my throat being too sore to speak loudly. I looked down at my cut and bloodied hands, trying to remember the last thing that happened to me.

"You're in a lab, brought here because you're just like us - special. That's Ace."

I glanced to the left and saw a boy the same age as the girl, with short black hair and emerald green eyes, he smirked at me and gave me a once-over, making me immediately dislike him. If not for that, and the fact that I was totally confused right now, I might have called him hot.

"A lab? What do you mean, like..you guys are..test subjects?" I glanced around the room once more, a slight panic making my heart beat faster. We were surrounded by other empty cages, there was a door on the far side of the room with a keypad lock next to a counter with a sink built into it. Four faded white walls with chipped and peeling paint closed us in on all sides, with no windows. My breathing accelerated, this couldn't be happening, how did I get here?

"Not just us." Ace said as he propped his booted foot against his cage wall, "Now you are too."

Star looked saddened for a moment by his words, before smiling reassuringly at me and saying, "You might not remember some things at first, it's the drugs, but it comes back after a while." I nodded, scooting to the back of my cage and closing my eyes, trying to focus on the last thing that happened to me.

***Flash***

_I was standing in an alley in South Central, not a place I particularly wanted to be hanging around, but it was ironically low key, and that was good. A cigarette burned between my middle and index fingers as I waited, though smoking was something I only indulged in when I was secretly stressed. Footsteps stomped loudly towards me, but I didn't flinch, I never did and couldn't afford to._

_Taking one last drag of my cigarette, I flicked it onto the ground and stomped on it with the toe of my combat boot, turning to face the messenger and his cronies. He pushed a manilla envelope marked with letters "C.G" into my hands and I stared blankly down at it, cold and slightly damp from the misting of rain coating the streets._

_"Boss said to have it done in a week's time, he can't afford any longer than that. And neither can you." He sneered, motioning to his buddies and turning on his heel as he started to walk away but my hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks._

_"No." I stated simply, holding out the envelope for him to take back._

_"What do you mean 'no'?" His temporary shock worn off, he pushed the envelope back towards me roughly. His backup had their hands at their sides now, ready to draw their weapons._

_"I told him that I was done, and I meant it. This was supposed to be what I'd earned from the last job, not a new mission. Take this back, and tell him to fuck off, because I quit." I dropped the envelope on his shoes and turned, ready to storm off and away from LA for good._

_"You can't quit, little girl, where are you going to go? You're lucky to have the boss put you up someplace now, what are you going to do, live on the streets?" He laughed and I paused, clenching my fists. "Don't you worry, I'll find my way just fine." I said, sarcasm practically oozing from my words, I knew my way around the streets, and continued down the alley._

_A faint click sounded behind me, stopping me dead in my tracks. I knew that sound. That sound was my job, and it didn't end well for the person on the wrong end of it._

_I turned slowly, raising my hands in mock surrender, was this guy kidding me? Did he seriously think he would take me out that wimp of a pistol? The other two had their guns drawn and sighted on me too. He laughed and motioned to the envelope at his feet._

_"Be a good girl, and pick it up." He said in a condescending tone. I smiled inwardly - this was going to be fun. I stepped forward and leaned down at his feet to pick up the dirtied envelope, with his boot he shoved me backwards on the the hard ground._

_"You look good down there, on the ground where you belong." They all laughed. He reached down, grabbing me by the collar of my already torn T-Shirt and shoving me against the wall._

_"Ready to have some fun, Sunshine?" He asked sarcastically, taking a lock of my long, glossy, jet black hair between his fingers. The light from a streetlamp outside the alley brought forth it's deep blue contrast that matched my eyes - which were well hidden behind a dull brown guise at this point. I had thought the prominence of the sapphire hue strange through my entire childhood, but I'd gotten used to it, it was all part of what I was - whatever I was. I felt the rush of power flow through me at the prospect of a fight, and smiled, "Only if you are." With that, I brought my head forward as hard as I could, smashing into his face and knocking him out, I fell to the ground - my boots hitting the hard stone ground with a thud. I ignored the pain in my head as I turned to face his backup._

_A manic grin spread over my face as I called to them, "How about you, boys?"_

_They aimed, and I laughed aloud as they pulled the triggers. I had already hit the ground, tumble- rolling beneath their feet and drawing my Condor Pipe knife from my combat boot. I rolled to my feet behind them. "Rule Number One, Thorn, Quick and Quiet." I mentally reminded myself, wrapping my arm around one of the guys' necks before he had a chance to turn around. The second one spun, finger on the trigger. I turned quickly, bringing the man in my sleeper hold with me, as he fired - shooting right into his partners' chest. I dropped the dead body to the ground and step forward, smiling._

_The man raised his gun again, aiming for my head. "Finally accepting your defeat?" He laughed. "Well, say goodnight." I smiled even wider as he pulled the trigger._

_Silence filled the cool night air. He looked down at his weapon in confusion. I walked slowly up to him, grabbing the wrist of the hand that held the pistol, bending it backwards and causing him to cry out in pain. I leaned down to whisper in his ear as he sunk down onto his knees, trying to loosen my grip on his wrist. "Two-shot pistol, dumbass." His eyes widened in fear as I straightened and, in one swift motion, slashed my dagger across his neck. His lifeless body fell to the ground in a crumpled heap._

_A groan behind me made me spin around, suddenly remembering the original messenger I had rendered unconscious._

_I crouched down next to him and brought my knife to his cheek as his eyes opened. He glanced frantically around at the dead bodies of his partners, before his frightened eyes fell upon my face. "Don't make a sound, just listen to me." I growled, reaching into his pocket and sliding out his pistol with one gloved hand. "I'm not going to kill you..yet" I said as I emptied the gun of ammo, sliding it back into his coat pocket. "Rule number ten, always disarm your enemy." Another reminder flashed through my mind._

_"But I do want you to do one thing for me." I plucked the manilla envelope off the ground. Opening it, I took the cell phone the boss had given me out of my pocket, and dropped it inside, then placed the folded envelope next to the pistol in his coat pocket. "You take that back to the boss, and you tell that good-for-nothing-bastard that if I ever see his face again, I will personally hunt down all of you, and see to it that each and every last one of you are six feet under -" I pressed my dagger even harder into his skin, "even if I have to dig the hole myself. Understand me?" He nodded the best he could under the pressure of my knife._

_I straightend and said, "Good. Stand up." He stood shakily and looked at the ground. "Face the wall and count to ten, then go straight to the boss and deliver my message."_

_I bolted down the alley and vaulted over the wire mesh fence blocking the exit to the street. Police sirens wailed, getting closer and closer behind me, but I didn't stop, and I didn't look back._

***Flash***

I opened my eyes as the memory faded out, my hands were shaking. I remembered now. I was a killer, an assassin. Thorn..my name was Thorn...or at least that was the name O'Riley had given me. I paused, trying to remember something else. Suddenly it came to me. I was an orphan. I was only seven years old when one day I came home from school, alone as usual, and found my parents dead in the library - both shot numerous times. I still remembered the blood. There were men there, they told me that they were here to help. But I knew somehow that they weren't. They put me in a black car, but I knew I had to get away, I got out the other side and ran as fast as I could, and never looked back. That was the day I met O'Riley.

"Do any of you remember anything at all of your lives before this?" I asked shakily, glancing at my cellmates.

"Well, yeah, after the drugs wore off we all started slowly remembering our lives again. The hardest to remember were our names, and we got so used to our nicknames that we decided to go by them." Star looked pensive a moment, ""I think we decided to keep our nicknames because we aren't the same people we used to be, we aren't just living anymore, we're fighting, surviving - and these are the names we've earned from that."

"Deep, Star." Ace commented. Star just glared at him and stuck out her tongue playfully.

I rolled my eyes and decided to interrupt their subtle flirting. "So..why is your name Star?

"Oh, I'm a healer..and, in ancient times, healing powers were said to come from the moon and stars."

"A..healer? Like, you can actually fix cuts and things?" I asked, intrigued.

"There isn't a scratch, cut, or broken bone that Star can't fix up for you." Ace cut in, and smiled at Star, who blushed.

"And Ace -" Star started, but was interrupted by Mr. Obnoxious himself.

"She doesn't need my life story." His green eyes landed on me, "I control Electricity, Electrokinesis, I think it's called."

Star giggled and said, "He once killed the power in this whole place, it was hilarious, they worked on it for hours before they got it turned back on." Ace broke into a smile and said, "It was pretty awesome." Then he sobered and glanced at me, "So what about you, new girl? What are you in for?"

I looked down at my ripped and stained jeans, I suppose I knew, but there was no possible way the people who brought me here could have known about me, was there? I decided to lie. "Nothing. Or at least, I don't think- I mean -I don't have any powers." I realized now that any plans I had on using my powers to escape this cage, weren't going to be possible if I wanted to conceal my identity. My eyes narrowed, "And by the way, it's Thorn."

"Oh pshaw, they don't make mistakes, sweetie. You must not have found your power yet." Star frowned, then continued. "Don't worry about it though, you will soon. Maybe it will be something that will help us get out." She sighed.

"Who is 'they'?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"They, are the creepy scientists that mutate kids into-" Star began, then clenched her fists tightly at her sides. "Into creatures like us. Most are worse though, some don't even look remotely human. It's awful. But most of them don't make it. Failed experiments aren't actual lives to them, they're just tests that they can throw out and redo."

"Does that mean - are we experiments too?" I asked, looking around me, trying to see into the other crates - they were all empty. The room reeked of antiseptic and the harsh florescent lights bounced off of the sterile white walls, it was enough to blind a person.

"No, we weren't born here, we just have powers that they need. That they can use for whatever evil scientist plot they have planned. We were born with them, and they want to use us for something. We don't know what, we've never been too far from these cages. Except for when they take us out for their tests and-" Star broke off suddenly as a loud beep came from the door at the far end of the room. She shrank back in her cage, tugging at her tangled hair nervously.

A man in a white labcoat entered the room, pushing a hospital gurney. The limp form of a body sprawled out across it's surface, clad in the same loose white t-shirt and jeans as the rest of the captives in the room. Blood soaked the front of her shirt and her eyes were closed, her breathing slow and shallow. From the corner of my eye I saw Star put a hand over her mouth, her eyes shining, tears threatening to spill over.

I stared at the girl as the man wheeled her to one of the empty crates and rolled her limp body inside, slamming the door and locking it afterwards. He was a balding man, middle aged with worry lines creasing his forehead and beady black eyes were half hidden behind a pair of small, round glasses.

He stepped up to the counter, turning the faucet on and washing his hands thoroughly before turning towards our crates. His eyes darted to Star, then Ace, before landing on me, a small smile creeping over his features.

"Hey, Blake, did you see this? They got 4-42!" He called out the open door.

"O'Riley's girl?" A voice called from outside the door. A younger man with longish brown hair entered the room, dressed in the same white lab coat. His eyes landed on me and he whistled. "So they did, took them long enough." He stepped up to my crate, bending down to look me in the eyes. I kept my face blank, my eyes showed nothing - something I learned from years of experience. "Pretty little thing." I nearly bit his head off at the look he gave me, but managed to keep my calm about me. "So, you think the rumors are true? You think O'Riley really found her when she was younger?" He asked the older man, who had also leaned down to look in my cage.

"Yeah, they had him killed eventually for not turning her in. He was a rogue anyway, no use to us. Just a shame they didn't find her then, a seven year old would have been a lot easier to train than a _seventeen_ year old, eh?" They laughed and I bit my tongue against the not-so-nice remarks about to fly out of my mouth. I just stared at them with an icy glare. O'Riley's murder was a touchy subject for me.

"Do you think something's wrong with her? She's not doing anything." The brown-haired one asked. The older man straightened and walked to the counter, pulling on a pair of latex gloves.

"Probably just in shock. Of course, they think she's been living on the streets since O'Riley sent her away, she might just be insane." He answered.

"Well, the Director wants her taken down for tests anyway, you wanna get the chair?" The younger one asked, still staring at me.

"Sure, go ahead and get her out." Beady-eyes said as he left the room.

'Blake', as the other man had called him, smirked at me. "Be nice, girl, and maybe they'll go easy on you." He laughed and unlocked my door, swinging it open. He grabbed my arms and pulled me out onto my feet. I wobbled, pain shooting up my sore limbs, then planted my feet and looked down at his hand on my arm.

"Good girl." He smiled, starting to pull me toward the door.

Suddenly, I grabbed his forearm with my free hand, pressing my nails hard into his skin and growled.

"Thorn, don't!" Star warned._ "Too late."_ I thought, twisting my hand and flipping 'Blake' over my shoulder. His back hit the tile floor with a loud crack. He cried out in pain. I turned slowly to face him, feeling a familiar surge of power race through me, I fought hard to control the color in my eyes, let alone the bursting energy.

I pressed my booted foot into his neck, watching his face turn blue with silent glee as he tried to push me off of him. "Thorn, stop!" Star hissed, her fingers wrapped around the front bars of her crate.

Behind me I faintly heard the door open, and felt hands wrap around my arms and pull me backwards and off the gasping Blake. I was shoved down into a wheelchair, and my wrists were constrained to the arms of the chair by coarse velcro straps. I growled and pull against the straps as Blake stood up.

"You little bitch." He spat and pulled back his hand. Pain shot through my face as he completed the blow, most likely leaving an obvious red mark. I bared my teeth and thrashed against my restraints, wanting to get my hands on him.

"This one's going to be tough." The older man behind me remarked. Blake barked out a laugh and said, "But she'll be worth it. Wait 'till the Director gets a look at what she can really do."

I was wheeled out of the room and into more blindingly white hallways. Metal doors lined the walls, each with a keypad on the front. Glass windows lined one wall and inside I saw rows of computers, each one with a whitecoat in front of it, typing away.

We turned and they brought me to the metal door at the end of the hall, punching in a number and pushing it open. "5586" I repeated the lock code over in my head until I had it memorized. The door led to a small opening, barely big enough for my chair and the person pushing it, that had elevator doors situated inside.

Blake, who had been pushing my chair, dug in his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. He sorted through them, then slipped one into a circular red keyhole next to the elevators and turned it. The doors opened with a loud clanking noise and yellow emergency lights lit up the interior. The man wheeled me inside and pushed one of the many colored buttons on the panel inside the elevator. There were no numbers on the buttons to indicate which floor we were on, so I instead had to remember that he pushed the green button for wherever we were going.

The doors groaned open as the elevator lurched to a halt, revealing a large dark room. It was barren, covered in fake grass with seemingly random pieces of metal and other miscellaneous items lying around near the walls. Blake flicked on a light and one by one huge florescents on the ceiling brightened the entire room. Other people, men and women, in white lab coats sat in chairs along the front wall and watched with eager eyes as I was pushed further onto the Astroturf.

Blake quickly unstrapped my wrists and darted from the field, reaching the far wall and pushing a button concealed under plexiglass. There was a loud grating sound and I jumped from the chair, rubbing my sore wrists. I started toward him, ready to kick his ass again, when suddenly thick metal bars lowered onto the field from the ceiling. I ran, trying to get under the bars before they closed all the way, but I was too late - they hit the ground with a deafening clank. Standing before the bars, I wrapped my calloused hands around the cold, rusted metal.

"What the hell is going on? You sick fucks, let me out of here!" I shouted at the scientists, sitting peacefully in their plastic chairs, leaning forward in anticipation. They laughed as I screamed at them, fueling my fire. I backed away from the bars, the synthetic grass lumpy and stiff beneath my boots. I could have gotten out by myself, no problem - but no way was I going to give them the show they wanted. If they insisted on holding me here, all they were going to see was another ordinary human who could put up a regular old fight. Another grating noise behind me caused me to spin on my heel, ready to pounce. A door was opened by one of the scientists, and a man stepped inside the cage. Scars covered all of the visible skin on his body, which was a lot considering he was dressed only in a pair of jeans and steel-toed boots. He grinned at me as a buzzer went off somewhere outside of the cage.

"What is this?" I called to the group of white-coats. No answer. Suddenly shirtless guy growled and I turned to face him again. Only, it wasn't him, well- it was - but he was covered in fur. His hands had transformed into huge clawed paws, a snout had grown from his face and huge canine teeth protruded from his mouth. His pupils dilated as he crouched, looking ready to rip my throat out.

"Holy shit." I muttered, as he barked out a nasty laugh and ran at me. Star wasn't kidding, these people really did create..creatures. I hit the sharp plastic grass and tumble-rolled as he pounced on the spot where I had just been standing. I caught myself and leapt to my feet in one fluid motion. He lunged at me again, and I leaned to the side, thrusting my elbow hard into his ribcage and ramming my knee into his face as he doubled over.

He dropped to the ground, then jumped up, stumbling back a few steps. I snapped my foot out to land a blow to his stomach, but he caught it in one furry hand, bending it and flipping me hard onto my stomach in the astroturf. Fighting without my powers? Not as easy as with them, but I'd done it before. I faltered momentarily as he came at me again, then collected myself and summersaulted forward, using the momentum to launch myself off the ground and onto my feet. Then I swung my leg around again in a crescent kick, landing a solid blow to the dog-man's jaw. He stumbled backward again, but didn't fall down.

"Damn, what did they give you for breakfast? Wait, let me guess," I tapped my index finger on my chin and looked up, pretending to think. "Oh! They slipped you some roids in your kibbles 'n bits. Am I right?" He growled and swung at me with his sharp claws. I jumped back, barely missing.

My eyes widened at the near miss, but I quickly snapped out of the shock. "Aw, looks like puppy needs to go back in his crate, he's not being very nice." I smiled as he bared his teeth, lunging at me. "Rule number three, rage will blind your enemy." I thought as I continued calling him out.

"You know, I always thought dogs were supposed to be at least a little smarter than infants, huh, well, now I'm positive that I'm wrong." He snapped, lunging forward at me, breaking his stance in his haste to rip out my throat. I jumped up, flipping over his head and grabbing one of his outstretched arms as I went. It bent backwards hard as I landed behind him, a snapping sound echoing through the giant room. I dropped the arm, which was now attached to a dislocated shoulder. I had to admit, I was impressed when he staggered to his feet, pressed hard against his upper arm, and snapped his shoulder back into place.

He only hesitated a second before reacting again, he swung and this time it was unavoidable. The blow landed squarley to my jaw and I fell, hitting the turf with an "umf" sound. Pain shot through my face, now I was mad. Pain did that to me. I sprang to my feet and kicked forward as hard as I could, kicking him where it counts. There were no boundaries in fights like this, and I never fought fair anyway.

Dog boy doubled over in pain and I spun, looking for a weapon. The only thing I saw was the wheelchair I had been brought in on. I shrugged and grabbed it, then spun back around using the weight of the metal chair for momentum. The chair connected with something hard and a snap sounded through the huge room, then wolf-guy's dead body fell limply to the ground, his head bent to one side. A soft thunk at my feet made me look down to see one wheel of the chair fall to the ground. I slammed the rest of the chair down next to it and whirled around to face the audience.

"You see that?" I said, pointing menacingly at wolf-boy laying dead on the ground, his eyes glazed over and blood trickling from his face and skull. "That's what's going to happen to all of you bastards if I ever get my hands on you!" I screamed to the onlookers as the door to the cage opened behind me. Slow claps cracked through the air as I turned slowly to face a woman with short dark hair, dressed in a pant suit. "Impressive, _Thorn_." She said coolly, spitting my name out like it was sour milk.

"Who are you?" I asked, meeting her steady gaze.

"I am the Director of this institution, and we're very glad to have you back, 4-47." She said, locking her hands behind her back.

My eyes narrowed, "What do you mean? I was never here in the first place, and I shouldn't be here now. What kind of sick fucks experiment on people?" I took a threatening step toward her, fists clenched. She merely let out a soft chuckle and said, "I see someone has lost touch with her roots." Then she turned on her heel back toward the door. She stopped next to one of the whitecoats and said, "She won't be needing the training. O'Riley took care of that for us. Run the tests, lets see how much she can handle." She glanced over her shoulder at me, a sinister glint in her pale gray eyes.

Two more scientists came into the room, one of them being Blake. I wasn't put in the chair this time, considering it was now inoperable. Instead they grabbed my arms, one on each side, and led me from the room. They guided me off of the astroturf field and through the door of the arena. The metal bars began steadily rising upward toward the high ceiling. The rows of whitecoats along the front wall prevented me from taking action now, I'd be outnumbered - by people who most likely wielded sedatives.

I allowed myself to be led from the room, through the metal door, up the elevator, and into the bright hall again. "Rule Number Four, always have your bearings intact, especially since I can only get to places I've seen before." I thought, as I realized I had no clue where we were, this hallway was unfamiliar to me. But Blake had pushed the yellow colored button in the elevator and the elevator had gone upward, so I knew my original floor color was neither green nor yellow and had to be somewhere below me. If there was one thing that would get me out of here, it was the lay of the land. Oh, and a key would come in handy too.

I thought of the key ring in Blake's pocket, I could here it jingling in his labcoat. Being someone who's fended for herself nearly her whole life, I've done my fair share of pickpocketing. But Lab Guy #2 was hindering my plan - he had to go bye-bye. I searched around for something to use to distract him, and my eyes landed on a fire alarm, would that be enough? I thought for a minute. "No, that would cause too much commotion." I thought as I continued scanning the halls. To my dismay, I found nothing.

We continued down the hall, took a right, and entered a room on the left side. There were no lights inside, with the sound of machines whirring in the darkness. Dr. #2 flicked a switch on the wall behind us and the lights flashed on, brightening the room and revealing a gurney, and random machines that I would have expected to see at a hospital. In the corner of the room stood a treadmill, wires dangling loosley from the sides. Metal trays held all sorts of sharp things that I could probably kill a man with, but I shivered when I thought of them being used on me.

Blake turned to Guy #2 and said, "I can take it from here, I'm sure you're needed elsewhere anyhow." The other man nodded and quickly turned, fleeing from the room. Blake pushed the door shut, careful to keep one hand tightly clasped around my arm. Not that I was going to fight him, that would be a useless tactic in this situation. They probably had alarms and weapons for that type of situation. Instead, I turned to Blake, giving him my best flirty expression and pushed him up against the nearest wall. I'd done this before, it made me sick every time, but it got the job done.

"What are you doing?" He exclaimed, but didn't try to push me away. "What do you mean?" I asked innocently, running my hands up his chest. I'm surprised I hadn't barfed yet. For an evil scientist Blake wasn't too bad, he looked to be in his late twenties - and could have had good looks - if he wasn't a twisted, evil, lunatic who liked to put kids in cages, that is. But hey, you got to do what you got to do.

Blake smirked and said, "Well, aren't you a dirty little lab rat." His hands snaked around my waist. Oh god, I was regretting this decision. Of course, I was used to it, I knew I was an attractive person and - not to sound conceited - I had learned over the years to use it to my advantage. Then the sicko flipped us around so I was against the wall, and crushed his lips to mine. I nearly pulled away as I made a muffled "Mmff" sound at the impact. I felt sick to my stomach, but I knew it was necessary to get out of this place.

I dragged my hands slowly back down his chest, feeling for the keyring. I felt it and gently reached in the pocket of his lab coat, pulling the heavy metal ring out.

Dr. Perv was feeling me up now, and I felt it time to put an end to this game. I lifted the iron key ring slowly, then in one quick motion I smashed it into the side of Blake's head. He dropped, hitting the ground with a thud as I pocketed the keys. "You're going to pay for that." He spat as he stood back up.

I laughed bitterly and said, "I'm just finishing what I started." With that I spun around, grabbing whatever was in reach - which happened to be an IV pole - as Blake lunged for the alarm button on the wall. I spun back to face him, swinging the pole like a baseball bat and hit him square in the temple as hard as I could just as he hit the button. I cursed aloud and set the IV pole down. Blake's head was bleeding profusely, I didn't bother to check and see if he was dead, all that mattered was that he was out of my way.

I flung open the door of the medical room and was greeted in the hall by screeching alarms and red flashing lights. I started to run. I bolted down the hallway, trying to remember how to get to the elevators. I had to get back to the others, I had to get them out of there were to many people around to use my powers now.

My hand brushed along the edge of the concrete wall as I turned a sharp corner, coming in sight of the door leading to the elevator. People were flooding the halls behind me, all clad in white lab coats or snappy suits. Some carried guns, and I could only hope to reach the elevators door in time. There were to many people around to use my powers now.

I slammed into the door behind which was my ticket to freedom and pulled hard on the metallic handle. Then pushed. Then pulled some more. "Locked. The keypad, idiot." I chided myself as I tried to remember the code I had repeated over and over in my head earlier. I scrambled to type in the numbers as I recalled them. "5586." I repeated as I did so. The red light on the keypad flashed and then let out a harsh beep. I tried the handle - still locked.

"Of course," I muttered to myself, "Different door, different code." I nearly screeched in frustration as I spun around to face the commotion behind me. A voice came over the loudspeaker, warning people to stay calm and inside their respective rooms as the guards handled the escaped experiment. "Yeah, that's working out really well on this floor." I thought as I watched the sea of labcoats pushing and shoving to get to who-the-hell-knows-where.

"There she is!" Someone in the crowd yelled. My eyes widened and my stomach dropped. I turned quickly to the right, searching for another means of escape. "Calm down, Thorn,"I thought to myself, "you've handled much, much worse than this."

The hallway was out of the question, the door to the elevator was locked - but the door to the fire stairs I happened to be currently facing wasn't. I shoved open the heavy red door to the stairwell and ran, taking the stairs two steps at a time, setting off a brand new set of alarms. The door on the next landing was labeled with a blue circle above it. "How big is this building anyway?" I sighed as I continued down, clutching to the cold metal railing as I turned sharp corners at each landing.

"Okay, think. The elevator went up when you were taken from your original floor to the astroturf room and the trip wasn't that long, so your floor has to be somewhere not far below green." I reasoned in my mind. But so far, I hadn't even caught site of the green door.

Shouts of surprise sounded from the hallways as the fire alarms triggered the sprinkler system. I chuckled quietly to myself as everyone in the corridors got soaked.

Heavy footsteps thundered behind me and looked over my shoulder at the advancing forms, all weilding guns. I quickened my pace. I could see them above me now, just one flight behind - and gaining. I wasn't going to make it like this. I leaned over the railing. Two landings down I could see the door marked with a green dot like a shining beacon in the dark. Not that I'd ever say anything that corny -oh wait, I just did. "Here goes nothing." I said as I looked up at the fast approaching gaurds. I swung myself up and over the railing, freefalling for momentarily before the energy shot through me, and my skin prickled as I disappeared in a twist of blue energy. I slammed into the railing outside of the green door, the metal pole connecting with my stomach and knocking the wind out of me. "Slight miscalculation." I muttered. That was one of the things I could do with my power, transportation.

Pain shot up my back and arms as I hauled myself over the rail, panted for a second, then stared at the green door. Sure, it bought me some extra time, but this wasn't the floor I needed. I glanced down at the tribal looking markings that covered my skin, that was what happened when I used my powers full force. I quickly concentrated my energy to look normal again, knowing that along with the markings, came the unnatural looking sapphire eyes.

Another thing energy control could do? Illusions, or rather, concealment..to some extent, meaning only myself and what's in contact with me. That's right, energy control, my own energy alone, that is. Pure power from deep inside that I had nearly always been able to manifest and control. It was a tangible thing, and it pricked my skin like static where it floated around me when it was unconcealed.

The list of things I could do with my energy? Not awfully long.

Energy was energy, and I could throw it or use it as a weapon, if I so chose - but once my energy has lost contact with my body, I couldn't get it back. And that would mean losing my own precious energy that would take time and rest to regenerate - both luxuries I didn't have. So, I didn't often do that at all.

I could transport, which was pretty damn cool - it turns my whole body into the mist-like energy, and acts like a portal from one place to the other. Meaning, I could take people with me if I had contact with them, just like a portable portal leading to anyplace I could visualize, or the person with me could visualize. I couldn't go places I had never seen or been, and couldn't cross long distances without getting seriously wiped. But, the only person I'd ever gotten a chance to transport with, was O'Riley, and we'll get into him later.

Concealment, my energy could take on any form, as long as it's in contact with my body. Like I said, I don't waste the stuff. Which means, it's good for covering up the freaky markings and the strange colored eyes, but not much else.

And lastly, energy isn't bad for deflecting things either, which means, if I held my hands up to protect myself, the energy could act as a shield - but, it breaks down from any outside forces hitting it and takes a lot of my own strength. Which means, after using it in such a manner, I'm probably going to be passed out on the floor. Fun, no?

I pushed myself off the railing and continued down the stairwell, checking each floor for a familiar anything. Finally I found it. I came to a door with a red circle above it and looked through the rectangular glass window into the corridor. I sighed in relief when I saw the now empty computer lab I had passed on the way to the elevator. I stepped back and pulled on the handle to the door. It didn't open.

"Of course, they decide to lock this door." I hissed under my breath. I paused, glowering at the door, then summoned the energy again, and landing - or rather- slipping on the floor on the other side of the door. I hadn't accounted for the water from the sprinklers being on the floor here, and before I realized it, I was lying flat on the cold floor.

I cursed, and carefully got to my feet. I didn't waste a moment, alarms were going off here as well, and the water made running on the already-waxed floor slippery and dangerous. Someone needed to get a mop in here. Did evil scientist corporations hire janitorial staff? Unlike the floors above me, this one was practically barren, everyone having been evacuated by now, I supposed. I could only hope that Star and Ace were still where I had left them.

I sped down the hall, sliding treacherously on the concrete floor and ramming my shoulder into the wall while turning a corner before regaining my balance. I soon got the hang of it and made it back to the door where I had been kept before. I yanked on the handle. Locked, of course.

I looked behind me and saw the guards slipping and sliding awkwardly after me. "No time for a regular fight now." I thought to myself. I felt the energy surge up around me, and the markings slowly creep over my skin. I turned towards the guards and heard one of them gasp.

I didn't waste time, transporting behind the guard on the far left, I grabbed his arm and quickly flipped him, the wet floor contributing nicely. His head cracked sickeningly on the white tile as he landed, knocking him out. A dart sped past me as I dodged to the left, bracing myself again the wall. I faced three more, one was reloading his dart gun. I dived forward toward the unconscious guard and snatched up his weapon, aiming and catching one of the guards right in the heart. His eyelids drooped and he fell noiselessly to the floor.

I snapped my leg out, roundhouse kicking one of them right in the face, breaking his nose, then clapped my hands over his ears. He screeched in pain as his eardrums burst. I then grabbed his gun and did pointed it at the last guard, who also had his tranquilizer gun trained and ready to fire.

"Put the gun down on the floor and raise your hands into the air," He commanded me, "Now."

I smiled, "Answer me this first, who do you think can pull that trigger faster? You, or me? Or rather, who do you think would be more likely to dodge it?" A solemn expression crossed his face, but he barely had time to comprehend my threat before I appeared behind him, and snapped his neck. I surveyed my work, and thought I did a rather quick job of taking care of them, especially considering they had confiscated my pipe knife upon arrival.

I glanced back at the door, back on task, and concentrated hard, visualizing the room where I had been in the cage. The image became solid and sure in my mind, and when I opened my eyes, I was back in the room. "You - how - why-?" Star stuttered, looking utterly confused. Her eyes were red as if she'd been crying. "No time." I said simply as I inserted key after wrong key from Blake's keychain into the lock on her cage door. Then, miraculously, one of them turned and the metal door swung open freely. I offered her my hand and helped her out of the cage, then turned and slid the key into Ace's door. He jumped out and headed toward the door, yanking furiously on the handle.

I turned to face the cage of the dark haired girl that had been dumped there earlier. "Don't bother," Star said quietly. "it's no use. We tried to keep her awake, but she was losing so much-" Star choked on a sob and turned away. With a closer examination of the cage, I noticed steady red droplets dripping from the cage onto the clean white floor. I looked away, and then at Star. "Could you..heal her?" Star looked up at my with tears in her eyes, "I can't bring back the dead, Thorn."

I nodded, and turned my palms up to Ace and Star, "Come on, I don't know about you, but I'm going home."


End file.
